Exclusive: McDuffie vows to ax "predatory" speed cams and red tape, mulls property tax relief
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Kenyan McDuffie served on the D.C. Council from 2012 to last December, when he decided to run for mayor. Photo: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie says he'd cut red tape to build more housing, dismantle "predatory" speed cameras and tell President Trump to "back off" from hometown D.C.
Why it matters: McDuffie is pitching himself as the contest's moderate Democrat, up against Council member Janeese Lewis George, whom he blasted as making "empty promises" in claiming "she wants to run D.C. using a New York City playbook."
Driving the news: McDuffie revealed his thinking to Cuneyt on the "Dream City Podcast" he hosts with Tom Sherwood.
Here are the most interesting takeaways:
Money: D.C. ranks poorly on cost of living, yet McDuffie wants to make it the most affordable city in the U.S.
- How? "You lower the cost of housing through increased supply and anti-displacement protections," prioritizing development around transit hubs, building larger family-size units, and cutting regulations to make it cheaper for affordable housing nonprofits to finance projects.
- "We need to grow our economy in a way that has guardrails so we're protecting people from displacement," he said.
Tackling Trump: When it comes to Trump attacking the city's image, like during last August's takeover that shooed away tourists, McDuffie says, "I would stand up and fight back."
- No on helping ICE — no MPD and federal officers "riding together, showing up on the scene together."
- And where they can make deals, he will, like on downtown development projects and the offloading of obsolete federal buildings in Southwest.
Traffic cameras: Some cams that feel like a gotcha will be removed. "If it's not about safety, the cameras are gonna come down," McDuffie said. "We want people to walk, run, bike, drive, and more importantly catch public transportation … What there won't be are cameras to generate revenue on the backs of hardworking people."
Property taxes: McDuffie said his campaign's social media accounts prematurely released messaging about promising to "freeze property taxes" — but he didn't rule out the idea.
- It's "on the table," he said. Some homeowners have told him rising property assessments were a burden, leading the campaign to consider it.
Baby bonds: To close racial and wealth gaps, McDuffie said he'd debut a program to give the children of lower-income families a trust fund, likely funded at $1,000 annually until they turn 18.
- Establishing baby bonds is one of McDuffie's legislative achievements, but Mayor Muriel Bowser has declined to fund it.
- "We wanna make sure that there is real opportunity in communities for people who have felt marginalized in this city for far too long," he said.
👎 K Street Transitway: "Nobody's door I knocked on has asked about" the project, which would've built bus lanes on K Street downtown.
👍 Robotaxis: "I'm all in on innovation," he said.
👍 Raising the Height Act: "I think it should be relaxed in certain parts of the city," but also, "we certainly don't want to be Rosslyn."
🚓 Police: Amid a recent low in police officers — down from 4,000 in 2008 to about 3,144 now — McDuffie didn't commit to a specific staffing target.
Full episode: Watch "Dream City" on YouTube or listen on podcast platforms.